


Crystal Gems

by Ways



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 17:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19795588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ways/pseuds/Ways
Summary: They were truly his family. He loved them more than anything in this world. He didn't know he would live life without them. But one day they were gone. Taken away from him as if they were nothing. He never felt more alone.





	Crystal Gems

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this one back in 2015 when I was first getting into the show. Of course, this probably would be incredibly different if I rewrote it now, but yeah. Please enjoy this story.
> 
> Note: This fic takes place a couple of years into the future. Steven is sixteen now which is why he'll be a bit different. It's also why some of the gems have new powers which you'll see with Garnet and Steven. (This is non-canon to the movie stuff due to when it was written)

Like his own father, the Crystal Gems were family to Steven. They were the only other known Crystal Gems in existence. They shared the load of being the sole protectors of the earth. In a lot of ways they were like him and yet they weren't. But even so he loved each of them dearly.

**~Crystal Gems~**

Garnet was his trainer. With her help he was able to become stronger than he could've imagined.

Steven chucked his shield at Garnet only for the gauntlet wielder to hold her two power gloves in front of her face in a block.

Using that to her advantage, Garnet opened the palms of her gauntlets revealing the two holes on the palms of the gloves and fired a beam of energy at the teenager.

Steven however was ready and called upon his cherry colored bubble that immediately dissipated upon contact with the attack.

"Rah!" Steven shouted as he spread his arms apart as several orbs of energy lashed from his two limbs. The orbs of energy slammed down into the sand and several turrets materialized in their place. The six pink turrets with Steven's quartz gem just on top of the power supply pivoted themselves towards the gauntlet wielding woman.

The turrets then began to fire several magenta orbs of light towards the Fusion.

Garnet flipped out of the way and stood in a battle ready stance with her power gloves ready.

The woman ran through the blasts as she easily batted them away with her gauntlets, despite being shot at multiple times. The woman gritted her teeth as she was slowing down due to the continued onslaught. Garnet knew she was going to have to do something otherwise Steven would win.

Garnet did come up with an idea though. The gems on her power gloves glowed bright pink before she jumped right into the air and slammed her fist straight down onto the ground. Immediately a pink shockwave spread through the ground and eliminated each and every one of the turrets that Steven had created.

"Woah!" Steven screamed as he was thrown into the air by the tremor.

He landed on his chest with a thud.

He got up only to come face to face with a maroon gauntlet.

"Game. Set. Match." Garnet smirked. "Better luck next time, Steven."

Steven smirked. "Not done yet."

Garnet raised an eyebrow under her sunglasses before her gauntlet was batted away by a pink shield. And she was flung back by another smack to her face.

"Okay Steven," The girl smirked as she cracked her knuckles. "I'll play around some more."

Steven then went to chuck his shield at the woman only for her to shoot it out the air with a blast of light. She then went on to fire at Steven only for the teen to be engulfed in his clear luminescent pink bubble.

Steven was not intimidated by this and rushed at the girl as the bubble continued to take in the onslaught of light. He rolled towards the gauntlet wielder preparing to crush her but she was all too fast for him to get his way as she leapt around the beach with far too much ease, still making attempts to fire at him.

"Gonna have to try harder than that, Steven." Garnet stated.

Steven got out of his bubble and went back to using his shield, making sure to take in each of Garnet's blasts.

Steven took in one of the blasts and made it ricochet off of his shield and slammed into the Fusion. Garnet fell to the ground at that.

Steven let his shield disappear and helped Garnet up once that was done.

"Well done Steven, you're getting better and better at combat." Garnet congratulated him as she took the boy's hand.

Steven beamed. "I know! I'm getting so good; I even beat you this time."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Garnet rolled her eyes underneath her shades. "If I wasn't going easy on you."

"I'm so amazing and awesome and- Wait? You what!?" Steven gasped.

Garnet chuckled. "I don't think you'd want to fight me at the top of my game, Steven."

"But that's not fair!" Steven shouted. "How am I supposed to get any better if you keep going easy on me?"

"Trust me, you are." Garnet said.

"No, I wanna fight again, Garnet." Steven insisted.

Garnet shook her head. "Come on Steven, I'm tired."

"We can go over your mistakes and what improvements you need to make during our next lesson."

Steven pouted.

Garnet sighed. "I suppose we can spar for a few more minutes."

Steven grinned, his shield already at his side. "This time, don't hold back."

Garnet smirked. "Alright, just be careful."

**~Crystal Gems~**

Amethyst was like an older sister to him. With her he was able to goof off and have fun. She treated him as an equal more than Garnet or Pearl did and knew so much more about him than either of them.

It was before he had started dating Connie. At the time they still considered each other to be best friends, but puberty had set in and feelings towards one another began to grow. They were both cowards and nearly everyone in Beach City knew about it.

"So what's the deal with you and Connie?" Amethyst asked Steven.

The boy chuckled. "What do you mean, 'what's the deal?'"

Amethyst laughed. "I mean, what's going on between you two."

"N-nothing's going on." Steven stuttered.

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Come on dude, I know you. Something's up and I wanna know what."

"There's nothing." Steven insisted. "The two of us are just really good friends, best friends."

Amethyst shook her head. "I see the way you look at her."

"I don't look at her any sort of special way." Steven shrugged. "I look at her like I look at you, like I look at everyone else."

Amethyst shook her head. "The last time I saw someone look at anyone the way you two look at each other were your mom and dad. That's not just normal."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Steven insisted.

"Oh come on, it's okay that you like her." Amethyst laughed. "Nobody's gonna have a problem with it."

"I don't like her."Steven said.

"Whatever," Amethyst rolled her eyes and began to stroll out of the room. "I'm gonna go run and get some fry bits."

"Wait up!" Steven shouted after her.

"Nah, I think you have more important things to worry about." Amethyst nudged her head towards the window. The two could see Connie approaching the beach. "Your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." Steven stated.

"Then make it happen." Amethyst told him.

"Bu-"

"Besides, I think she really likes you too." Amethyst added as she finally left the temple.

**~Crystal Gems~**

Pearl was like a mother to him. In a lot of ways she was able to fill the void left by Rose Quartz.

He fell to his knees. "I can't do it!" Steven screamed as he tried yet again to summon his turrets out of the beach sand, but he just couldn't.

"Steven, it's okay." Pearl said.

"No, it's not okay!" Steven shouted. "We've been at this for hours and I haven't even able to make anything out of the sand!"

Pearl shook her head. "We'll just have to try again, Steven. I know you can do it."

Steven shook his head, the tears beginning to brim. "I've been trying so hard, I've taken all of your advice on how to do this! Making it happen like Amethyst, channeling the power of the universe like Garnet and putting my heart into it like you said. But nothing's really working! I just can't do it!"

"Yes, you can Steven." Pearl insisted.

"You guys always say that!" Steven bellowed. "I'm weak! I'm so weak and everybody knows it, my powers are never going to be as good as my mom's!"

"Steven don't say that!" Pearl pleaded.

"But it's true!" Steven shouted. "I'm never ever going to be a real Crystal Gem!"

The tears then began to flow freely. Steven tried to look away from Pearl, shameful of the events taking place. He hated crying nowadays, he felt it made him look weak to others and he just didn't want to take it.

"Steven, you stop that right now!" Pearl commanded, taking on a harsher tone.

Steven looked up at her through the tears.

"You are a Crystal Gem, no matter what anyone else may think whether they be from Homeworld or here on earth, they don't know anything about you and your true power."

Steven sniffled at that. "But-"

"No buts." Pearl stated. "I know you better than they do and I know that you'll be able to do this."

Steven brushed one of his tears away. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Pearl stated.

Steven snorted but let lose a small smile.

"Come 'ere." Pearl smiled at him, opening her arms.

It felt so familiar, something he hadn't done in so long, but running into the woman's arms and just melting into her comforting embrace. It was euphoric.

"You really think I can?" Steven asked.

"I know you can." Pearl said. "It was the same with your shield wasn't it?"

Steven wiped away the rest of the tears and grinned. "Then let's get back to work!"

And with that, Steven and Pearl got back to trying to materialize objects.

**~Crystal Gems~**

The gems were his family but then they were so blatantly ripped away from him by the hands of Jasper.

Garnet finally found her six years after what had gone down with the Homeworld Gems. But Jasper made sure to make quick work of Lapis, shattering her gem to bits. Steven and the others were quick to pounce on Jasper after that. But he had become far more powerful than any of them had anticipated.

**~Crystal Gems~**

Garnet was the first to fall; she used the Gem Destabilizer on her.

"GARNET!" The three called after their fallen friend.

But Jasper simply scooped up Ruby and Sapphire faster than anyone could've anticipated and crushed them within her enormous fists.

**~Crystal Gems~**

Then there was Amethyst.

She learned from Garnet's mistake and kept her distance from Jasper, snapping her whip at the powerful gem while Pearl threw multiple staffs at her like spears.

Steven tried to form his turrets but he couldn't help but think of Garnet. It was throwing off his concentration, all of them ertr so out of focus due to what the gem before them had just done. Jasper, however, still continued to fight on not even breaking a sweat as she took each and every one of them down.

Amethyst wrapped her weapon around a boulder before flicking it and sending to right at Jasper. But the woman simply formed her war helmet and slammed her head into the rock.

It exploded into a shower of pebbles that effectively hindered their sight. No one expected for Jasper to come soaring through the rock only to slam into a surprised Amethyst.

She quickly retreated into her gem and didn't even get the time to reform when Jasper scooped her up and chucked her into the rock face of the temple, shattering her upon impact.

"Amethyst!" Both Pearl and Steven cried. The two couldn't believe what was happening, Jasper couldn't just show up and destroy them all in no time flat and with so little effort. There had to be so much more that they could do.

Steven clenched his fists. "Come on Pearl; let's go we can take her."

"Please," Jasper rolled her eyes. She landed on the ground causing a slight tremor to erupt, shaking the two ever so slightly, Steven fell to the ground but Pearl stood proud and tall. "You couldn't take me on even if you tried; I'm done playing games with you, Crystal Gems."

"Steven run!" Pearl shouted to him.

"No, I'm not leaving you alone to fight Jasper."

Pearl smiled down at him. "Promise me you'll stay safe."

"But Pearl-"

Pearl turned away from Steven and faced Jasper.

**~Crystal Gems~**

And then there was Pearl.

"The defective Pearl?" Jasper rolled her eyes. "Out of my way, I don't have time to deal with you, I've come for Rose Quartz."

"You're not going to touch her!" Pearl stated. "And you're not going to touch him either!"

Pearl summoned her sword and sent a hefty jab at Jasper. The warrior simply sidestepped the blow and slammed her massive fist right into her head. With a poof of air she retreated into her gem and Jasper simply stomped on her gem, ending her life.

**~Crystal Gems~**

"You-you killed them." Steven sniffled.

"Yes." Jasper said. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're army is pathetic, Rose Quartz. I expected you to assist them in battle but instead they just surround you like the pathetic weakling that you've truly become. You're not worth facing anymore and therefore not worth my time."

Steven dropped to his knees, crying at that.

"Pathetic." Jasper spat. "Crying at the loss of simple pawns in this game, I'm done with you."

And with that Jasper turned and began to leave Steven.

 _ **Pawns?!**_ Steven thought.

They were so much more than pawns. They were his family.

He wasn't going to let Jasper take them out like that and walk away. He was angry and he wanted revenge.

Steven got up and glared up at Jasper, disappearing in a flash of light.

To Jasper's very shock he reappeared in front of her and punched her in the face, before disappearing again and reappearing away from her.

"Don't you ever talk about them like that!" Steven shouted.

Jasper smirked. "Finally showing me your true power, Rose? But why do you continue to use that pathetic human form?"

Steven snapped his fingers and several of his pink turrets appeared before Jasper and opened fire on the warrior.

This definitely slowed Jasper down as Steven thrust his arm towards her and increased fire.

But the woman was quite durable and was able to charge through the maelstrom.

Steven then formed his shield before running through fire. Jasper grinned at this and formed her war helmet once more. She leaned down to Steven to give him a head butt but Steven simply slammed his shield up into it, in a sort of uppercut.

Jasper was disoriented by the blow, as it jarred her head up away from the boy, before Steven jumped up and bashed his shield into the top of her head, knocking her to the floor eagle spread.

"What…?" Jasper gaped up at Steven.

Suddenly Rose's sword appeared in his right hand. He didn't waste a second before plunging it into Jasper's back.

_Poof_

Jasper retreated to her gem.

Steven looked down at the orange crystal. This was the woman that had caused him so much pain, so much sorrow. She destroyed his entire family in a matter of minutes and now he had the chance to destroy her.

He raised his foot over her gem, getting ready to crush her under his sandal.

He hesitated though. He couldn't do it. It isn't what Garnet, Amethyst or Pearl would want him to do. His own mother didn't destroy people, she loved them.

It wasn't in his blood to hate someone, to destroy them. He just couldn't.

Steven lowered his foot, crouched down and bubbled Jasper's gem. That's all there was to it, Jasper was out of his life forever now.

**~Crystal Gems~**

Now they were all gone.

It had been a couple of weeks since Jasper crushed his family and he had never really been the same since.

He was so distant, so forced. As if he were some sort of robot. It worried Connie, Greg and Lion to no end, seeing him so crushed.

Steven still fought the corrupted gems and made sure that Jasper and Peridot stayed bubbled in the temple but now, he just didn't have that same bombastic attitude he usually did.

Things like videogames, fry bits and wrestling matches didn't do anything for him anymore. Connie and Greg –despite not really being into any of these things- tried to do them with him and he still wasn't really feeling it.

Steven stared out at the ocean before him. He just was trying to look for something to calm him but couldn't really find it in anything. There was nothing that really fixed his mood.

But now, he had his guitar in his hands, it was something he hadn't done in quite a long time, playing or singing anything. But that was about to change, he just didn't know what to do.

He started out with a gentle strum, just playing what he felt. He just kept playing and playing and somehow he ended up finding himself on this.

_If you were evil and you were on the rise,_

He remembered some of the monsters that he and the gems had fought: The centipeedle, the ice monster, the giant eye, Jasper, Peridot.

_You could count on the four of us taking you down._

Fighting with the gems, destroying Peridot's hand shaped space ship, bubbling away so many of those creatures.

_Cause we were good and evil would never beat us._

He remembered some of the more critical moments in his life with them: combating Lapis' water clones; Garnet's first reforming in his presence; taking Jasper down himself.

_We'd win the fight and then go out for pizzas!_

He remembered multiple occasions dining with the gems over a hot oven baked pizza. He and Amethyst would always dig in and Pearl would just talk while Garnet would sip on a soda.

_**We** _ _, were the crystal gems._

He sadly smiled at that, he thought fondly of his prouder moments with the gems: Celebrating the defeat of Jasper and Peridot and forming his shield for the first time.

_**We'd** _ _always save the day._

The tears began to form in the corners of his eyes as he thought about other celebrations at their success.

_And if you thought we couldn't,_ _**we'd** _ _always find a way._

He remembered breaking out of Peridot's prison, convincing Amethyst and Pearl to form Opal, showing Pearl that she was strong in the real way.

At this point Greg, Connie and Lion saw him singing.

_That's why the people, of this world… Would believe in…_

He saw people from all over the world cheering for him and the gems after some of their more world shattering missions.

_Garnet,_

He saw her smiling down at him, telling him that Ruby and Sapphire already loved him.

Lion appeared next to him, Steven lightly pet him.

_Amethyst,_

He remembered being on the run with Amethyst, having so much fun with her.

Greg came and gave his son a pat on the back, Steven lightly smiled at this.

_And Pearl._

He remembered Pearl waving the flag around, telling him stories of the great battle that they had fought against the homeworld gems.

Connie came over, giving him a hug and lightly resting her head on his shoulder.

_And Steven…_

Greg and Connie clapped for him while Lion let out a purr at that. Steven put his guitar down as the tears just started to flow.

Connie and Greg embraced him. They just hugged him and hugged him and wouldn't let him go as he balled into both father's chest and his girlfriend's shoulder. They wouldn't let the embrace ever end.

"I-I just miss them so much!" Steven cried. "Why did Jasper have to come back and make them go away?!"

"Sometimes these things just happen, buddy." Greg sighed. "Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl they were strong, really strong. But they sacrificed themselves trying to defend you."

"But it's because of me that they died!" Steven bawled.

Connie shook her head. "No one could've predicted that Jasper would come back that strong. There was no way you could've prepared for it."

Steven sighed. "But I was only able to beat her _after_ they were all gone."

Greg shook his head. "Nobody's perfect, Steven. After all, if every pork chop were perfect…"

Steven sniffled wiping a tear away. "We wouldn't have hotdogs."

"The three of them were great," Connie said. "But they knew that one day you could be even greater."

"They wouldn't have let go if they didn't believe that you could protect the world without them." Greg stated.

Steven let out a small smile, the tears still falling but lessening in quantity. "You really think so?"

"We know so." The two of them said.

Steven sighed. "But they were my family, no one understood me like they did."

"That may be true." Connie sighed. "But nobody understands you in the way that we do."

"We may not know all about gem stuff, Steven. But whatever's left that they haven't taught you, we'll figure it out together." Greg said.

"We're you're family, Steven." Connie said.

"And you're not going it alone." Greg insisted.

"Not now, not ever." Connie squeezed his hand tighter.

Lion let out a light purr at this.

Steven smiled. "You guys are right. I may miss the other gems a lot, but they wouldn't want me sulking around like this. They'd want me to keep fighting."

The three smiled at him, even Lion.

Suddenly the ground under them began to quake causing the three of them to tumble onto the ground.

"What is that?" Connie shouted.

Suddenly a grayish creature that seemed to have a drill for a snout and for both of its hands and silver whiskers arose from the ground growling at the group. It was mostly armadillo like and had its gem on its octahedral gemstone on its stomach.

"I gotta take that thing." Steven started, rising to his feet and facing the sniveling fiend. "You guys stay put."

"You're not going to take that thing by yourself, Steven." Greg stated.

Lion stood at his side and Connie climbed onto him as well, growling at the creature too. Lion allowed Greg to climb onto his back.

"We're a team now." Connie announced. "And we're going to take that thing down together."

Steven looked to each of them, they all stood their ground and didn't seem to falter at the sight of the creature or Steven's gaze.

"Yeah, we're the new Crystal Gems!" Greg cheered.

Steven shook his heads. "No, we're not the Crystal Gems. We are Team Universe."

"Awesome." Connie grinned.

Greg nodded. "Oh yeah, it's great."

Lion gave a light nod of approval.

The creature before them growled at the once more.

"Well, what do we do Steven?" Connie asked.

Steven looked around once more and saw that his family was all staring at him waiting for guidance. He was the new leader now and had to stand up to his new position.

"Team Universe… ATTACK!" He commanded.

The three charged forward facing the new gem.

He may not have had Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl anymore. He may not have had the same people to teach and love him like before. But somehow, some way with this new team he would make this work.


End file.
